Teacher in Development

This short post comes just after reading Artists using their spin for good…
on the crisp reflective disarray blog.

 I’d like to invite you to go check this Sarah McLachlan video out. Even if you aren’t into her style, watch the video. It will make you think about some pretty amazing, shocking, and overall…inspiring things.

I ask myself and my audience this: What does it take to start making poverty history? The answer is simple: 1. Use what’s in your hands. (hint: you don’t have to be the UN or a country president with wide access to resources.) 2. Use intelligence to invest what you have. 3. Decide to act, and ACT.

Be inspired. Simple, intelligent acts of compassion can change lives.

What could you do? What could I do? The comments are wide open.

Photo Credit

Poverty by Saital 

 

Really interesting article over at the Selling To Big Companies blog around the role of Thought Leadership and landing new customers.

I freelance. Finding new customers is pretty imprtant to me, so I really found this short post to be of interest. Key thought:

In today’s crowded market space, one of the best ways to stand out from the competition is by becoming a thought leader. What does this mean you need to do? Basically, thought leadership is about willingly sharing your ideas, insights and expertise with others who can benefit from them.

Selling to Big Companies Blog: Thought Leadership Attracts Customers

I would say, at least in Mexico City, that the ESL industry keeps close pace with the street side taco stand as one of the most crowded in existance.  So how are the “little guys” going to get noticed? How are you going to start getting people’s attention without an advertising budget or high profile PR campaign?

I have to totally agree here with Konrath. Share what you know. Forget the “scarcity mentality” and my thought to tack on here: start blogging, but link locally.

Here’s how I’ve slowly started developing relationships on a local level using my blog. 1. I’ve started seeding my bloglines and netvibes readers with local Mexico City bloggers. (Screened to personal taste and interest of course…) 2. I’ve started regular commenting on a few, and conversations have begun. Nothing to do with “working together” yet, but the all important relationships are beginning to form. As a result of a series of comments, one local blog author has already linked to me, and has even done some low level explorations of this blog.

This is where, if the prospect is at all interested, can see how I work as an English teacher. They can learn about my teaching ideas, my “methods”, my philosophy etc, and can get a pretty good “digital feel” for how I am in person. A sort of preveiw if you will.

Perhaps I’m not a great ESL thought leader…I don’t mean to even imply that, but this blog is where I am freely throwing out my ideas and ways I work to the rest of the world…and maybe even to a prospect.

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It’s not easy to find "fair trade" items in Mexico. Last week, however, that all changed a little. We went to a nearby grocery store and found this amazing selection of organic products…and that’s when I noticed the little "fair trade" sticker on the coffee can.

Fair trade! Yeah! My wife and  I immediatly picked up the coffee. If anyone reads this blog inside of Mexico, I’d like to encourage you to check out the site (www.comerciojusto.com.mx — contents in spanish!) and see how you can support this important project.

You know, many people - and I’ll go ahead and include myself here sometimes, often feel like attacking poverty is something out of reach sometimes. We think: "What can I possibly do to help bring an end to it?"

Well, we don’t have to make it complicated. Maybe we can’t destroy poverty in Africa, or Mexico, or wherever you may find it, with one quick stroke or donation. Powerlessness is just a state of mind. The truth is that there are many ways we, the little people, can make a difference. Perhaps it will be one person, one life at a time, but little by little, we would be making that difference.

I was really excited that Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize. His work with the Grameen Bank in India is quite inspiring. This guy was normal. He just decided to act. I was reading an article about him today, and I found some really cool quotes that I wanted to pass along to you:

"You cannot go on having absurd amounts of wealth when other people have problems of survival," he said. "If you can bring an end to poverty, at least from an economic point of view, you can have a more livable situation between very rich people and very poor people, very rich countries and very poor countries. That’s our basic ingredient for peace."

Micro-Credit Pioneer Wins Peace Prize - washingtonpost.com

…and this quote from the Nobel Prize committee:

"Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty," the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Micro-Credit Pioneer Wins Peace Prize - washingtonpost.com

Poverty and peace go hand in hand. So want to find a practical way to help another human being break out of poverty? Buy fairly traded products. If you’re in Mexico, you now have a place to start. If you don’t live in Mexico, and you’d like to explore the idea more, why not  get curious here:  Fair Trade on Google.

You might not destroy poverty across the world, but you CAN make a difference in someone else’s life. Think about it.

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I just came across this article in a local paper. Warning: Spanish content: El Financiero en línea

(http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=21360&docTipo=1&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC)

 

The article’s title caught my attention: "Agreement Signed to launch Digital Homes."

The basic idea: Microsoft, Intel, and two local Mexican companies are partnering to include computers and internet access in 25,000 newly constructed homes.  According to the article, these homes are in "social interest" and Middle class income ranges. Broadband Internet, I imagine for the low income folks, will be offered on a "pre-paid" system - kind of like long-distance telephone cards.

 Computers will be provided "free of charge" to those who opt to buy homes starting at 170 thousand Mexican Pesos. (where the heck would these places be? Hours and hours away from civilization I bet.)

According to the folks at Intel, Microsoft, Homex and Grupo Elektra - the objective of this program is to help bridge the growing digital divide that exists in the country.

According to stats: Less than 5% of the population has access to the internet in Mexico, and and not even 9% of folks in the country have a computer at home.

My only question: If only 9% of people in Mexico have computers at home, how many people actually have enough money to afford to buy a new house in order to enjoy the new computer and broadband?  

Via Autono Blogger and EFL Geek: Could the great sushi conspiracy be true? What a great video…check it out, you’ll enjoy it.

Thanks for the laugh guys! And EFL Geek: Where did you find this? Did you make it?